Phil Martelli, fill-in coach, coached the Wolverines (17-13 and 11-9) while Juwan Howard completed his five-game suspension after he hit a Wisconsin assistant during a postgame handshake.
Martelli said, “I’m just amazed at the players’ character.” Martelli went 3-2 in Howard’s place. “I am in awe at the knowledge of the support staff. We wanted to achieve balance.
Howard will be back at the sidelines this week when the Big Ten Conference Tournament starts.
Jones stated, “We’ll share the same energy.” Jones said, “He’s going bring that juice and he’ll match our intensity.”
E.J. Liddell had his eighth double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds for Ohio State (19-10-12-8).
The conference tourney seedings are yet to be determined.
The Wolverines trailed by nine points at halftime and were down by seven by the break. They went on a 14-1 run halfway through the second period to move ahead 56-44 with just 10:18 remaining.
With 11 seconds left, the Buckeyes pulled within four. Terrance Williams II scored two free throws to win it.
Chris Holtmann, Ohio State coach, stated that “we didn’t handle it well at all.” We were lazy with it. “We were too soft with the ball.”
Williams scored 17 points for the Wolverines, while Eli Brooks (and Moussa dibate) each scored 14.
Malaki Branham led Ohio State’s scoring with 18 points, while Justin Ahrens scored 12, including four 3-pointers.
DICKINSON AVAILABLE
Hunter Dickinson, Wolverines 7-1 center, was unable to play Sunday’s game because of a stomach infection.
Martelli stated, “He didn’t feel strong enough.”
DIABATE STEPS UP
The Wolverines were without their leading scorer and starting center in Dickinson. They needed to be present in the paint.
Diabate (6’11”) was the man they turned to to fill that gap. Diabate finished 7 out of 11 from the field, and his seven rebounds were tied for the team’s highest. He also made a block and stole.
Diabate stated, “I believe that playing as a team doesn’t matter who’s missing,” “We are going to challenge any team we play.
EXTRA POSSESSIONS
Michigan broke the season record with 11 steals. The offensive rebounding advantage was also 35-34 with 13 boards.
The Wolverines had 13 turnovers, which resulted in 12 points. They scored seven second-chance points.
Jones stated that Jones knew that they had larger bigs, and added that those players were “kinda slower”.
He said, “It was simple for us.” It wasn’t difficult to understand. Knowing that we played them last time, we had a few layups attacking downhill so it was the same mindset.
JONES HOTRED
Jones scored at least 21 point for the second consecutive game and shot 56.8% during that time.
Jones scored a game-high nine field goals against the Buckeyes. He also made nine assists and stole two.
“I just wanted the win. Jones stated that this was the most important thing to him. “We had a great win as a team. We had a balanced scoring approach, so I don’t get all the credit.”
SENIOR DAY
Seven Ohio State players were honored before the game.
All of the following were recognized: Liddell and Ahrens; Joey Brunk; Cedric Russell; Jimmy Sotos; Jamari Wheeler, Kyle Young.
BIG PICTURE
Michigan: After scoring at least 50% in their last three games, Dickinson was absent and the Wolverines shot 41%.
Ohio State: In their seven previous outings, the Buckeyes lost their fourth game against unranked opponents. Six of the seven games were won by opponents with a score of 42.2% or higher.
We need to rest. Holtmann stated that we must get healthy but also need to play better and defend better. “Health is definitely a factor.”
UP NEXT
The Big Ten Tournament starts Wednesday.
